- What’s your role at TotalEnergies Gas & Power?
I joined TotalEnergies in February 2021 as Newcastle Sales Manager for small and medium-sized businesses. I lead a team of five team leaders, their elite sales teams and a sales administrator within the SME 'direct' space (where we mange relationships directly with customers rather than through energy brokers).
I work with the team to focus on continually improving overall performance - ensuring we find the right contract for the unique needs of each customer's business whilst meeting the requirements of our own commercial controls.
We've worked hard on improving the customer experience and journey, with customer account queries reaching an all-time low. We’ve also introduced significant improvements to our telephony lines that have reduced wait times and improved 'first contact resolution' (our success rate in answering customer queries at the first time of asking) - all which have helped us earn a 'Great' rating on Trustpilot.
- What do you most enjoy about your job? And what do you find most challenging?
Although I love most areas of my job, for me the most rewarding part is performance management. I love to complete coaching, work 1-on-1 and in group sessions to improve performance. I love seeing people empowered by their performance and uplifted when they see their hard work and effort shifting the dial - and how proud they are when they reap the rewards.
The most challenging aspect has been keeping my team motivated through recent challenging energy market conditions, but their resilience and determination has helped us deliver some great results and many delighted customers.
- What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve received?
Coming from a family that is mostly self-employed, I’ve always been taught to treat any role as if it was your own business - as if the performance of your team determined your take home pay that month. It’s helped me make business decisions as if I were spending my own money, not over spending because “the business” pays for it. It’s also helped me to think leaner when designing and implementing new processes. I’ve done it for so long now that it comes naturally to me and it can really help with culture change.
- What are you best known for?
I’m not sure I’m best known for anything really, but a common observation I’ve received since joining this business and in previous roles is that I have a very calm demeanor... I’m not a “flapper!” I’m glad I come across that way, as if you could sometimes hear inside my head, it’s a very different story...!